Hiring. It's one of the most important things you do. Hiring the right person can lift your store into the stratosphere; hiring the wrong one will drag you into Dante's 7th circle of hell.
Finding and hiring people who can become high-quality employees is the key topic discussed in the third episode of INSTORE's new podcast series, JimmyCast, from jewelry-store trainer Jimmy DeGroot, along with co-host Doug Meadows of David Douglas Diamonds in Marietta, GA.
Some of the topics covered in the discussion:
* Why people today can't fill out job applications* Why restaurant servers are often great candidates to attract into the jewelry business* Doug shares how he has found some of his employees. These include Craigslist, spreading the word amongst friends, hiring a family member (who didn't have a choice); and several from Facebook. Doug has even used divine intervention, praying for a good employee to arrive at a critical moment. (Guess what? It worked.)   * How Jimmy took a coffee-shop barista and turned her into a half-million-a-year seller  • One question Doug used to weed out applicants for available jewelry sales positions: "If we had two positions available -- one in the backroom, working with inventory, and one out on the floor, working with customers, which would you prefer?" He was surprised to see that numerous people who, we want to remind you, were applying for a sales position, said that they would far prefer the back-room job. "You don't even call those back," says Doug.* When it's appropriate to use a headhunter.* Why it's almost always smart to hire a good candidate even if you're not looking for someone new* Is it smart -- or not -- to hire your good customers?